ISTANBUL, Turkey — Felipe Massa of Ferrari won pole position for the Turkish Grand Prix for the third straight year today.

The two-time defending race champion will start first on the grid for tomorrow's race at the Istanbul Speed Park after clocking a best lap time of 1 minute, 27.617 seconds.

"I think I put together a very good lap ... it proved to be enough to be on pole," Massa said. "I'm so happy here, to be on pole for the third time here. It's a fantastic track for me."

Heikki Kovalainen of McLaren will start second after finishing less than 0.2 seconds behind Massa. Kovalainen's best career qualifying position comes less than two weeks after a violent crash at the Spanish GP that left the Finn in the hospital.

"It's been a bit of a roller coaster obviously the last couple of weeks," Kovalainen said. "A big accident in Spain and I have been lucky to survive without any injuries. Coming here ... I felt very confident with the car. It's a pleasure to start from front row."

A defective wheel part caused a tire on Kovalainen's car to explode and sent him barreling into a wall at high speed in Spain. Though he had to spend a night in a hospital with a concussion, Kovalainen was cleared for Sunday's race after passing medical checks on Thursday.

"Like I said — I wouldn't have come here if I didn't feel 100 percent fit," he said. "Hopefully, tomorrow we can do a good race on this position, it's my best starting position. It's not that big a milestone ... I would rather be on pole."

Teammate Lewis Hamilton will start third, ahead of Kimi Raikkonen of Ferrari, while BMW Sauber's Robert Kubica goes from the fifth spot.

Mark Webber of Red Bull starts sixth ahead of Renault's Fernando Alonso, while Jarni Trulli of Toyota, BMW Sauber's Nick Heidfeld and David Coulthard of Red Bull round out the top 10.

Massa, who won his first GP in Istanbul in 2006, is seeking to become the first driver to win the same race three straight years since former teammate Michael Schumacher won four consecutive races at Indianapolis in 2003-06.

Massa's championship aspirations have gained momentum after he failed to get a point in the first two races of the season. The Brazilian driver rebounded with a win in Bahrain and a runner-up finish to Raikkonen at the Spanish GP.

"It won't be easy because our competitors are quite strong and close," Massa said. "We'll try to do everything right and put the tires on at the right moment."

All three Turkish GPs have been won by the pole sitter.

Defending world champion Raikkonen leads the overall standings with 29 points, nine more than Hamilton. Kubica is next at 19, with Massa a further point behind in fourth.

Raikkonen, who won the inaugural Turkish GP when he was with McLaren three years ago, has struggled to find his car's balance since a gearbox problem forced him out of Friday's first practice session. The Finn looked jittery through the first two rounds of qualifying but got it together in the final session.

The Turkish GP has been moved up from its usual date in the hot days of August, leaving teams grappling with cool weather instead of the usual sunshine. Track temperature increased in qualifying, helping tires warm quicker to see lap times drop while a gusting wind challenged drivers along the undulating course.

Super Aguri's withdrawal from the Formula One championship meant that only five, rather than six, cars were excluded after each of the first two parts of qualifying. Super Aguri pulled out of F1 on Tuesday due to financial difficulties.

Giancarlo Fisichella of Force India starts last despite finishing 19th in qualifying because he exited pit lane before the green light went on to start Friday's practice sessions. Teammate Adrian Sutil swapped spots with the Italian.